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'Peter Crumb's intellect, scathing wit and good looks endear him to the reader, acts of mutilation and near-necrophilia aside - for those that can stomach it, the devil in Glynn's details begs to be read.' Dazed and Confused, Book of the Month 'Glynn writes with verve, panache and a sardonic flair for comedy.' Metro 'Sometimes it's sad. Sometime it's funny. Moreover, it's daringly discomforting, like American Psycho unleashed on middle England. This is not a creation you'll want to turn your back on.' The List Horrific but great.' Chuck Palahnuik
Dazed and Confused
`An equally tortured, arguably more ruthless version of
Raskolnikov ... for those that can stomach it, the devil in Glynn's details
begs to be read.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Raskolnikov ... for those that can stomach it, the devil in Glynn's details
begs to be read.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If society is reflected in the art that its produces then we are well and truly [...]. The Seven Days Of Peter Crumb is a novel so unremittingly dark and violent it would make Hannibal Lecktor despair. It depicts the a week long killing spree of a psychopathic resident of Hackney .The author is also a resident of Hackney -some who read this book will also believe he , like his fictional protagonist is a psychopath .How else could he come up with some of the stuff in this novel ?
Within the first fifty pages two Bangladeshi women have been beaten to death with a claw hammer and a crack addicted prostitute is kicked to death. But what at first may appear to be the sickening boastings of the truly amoral and insane turns out to be something far more complex and satisfying. Crumb it transpires has been adversely affected by a violent seismic event in his past that has cleaved his personality in two. But rather than use this plot device as trite clichéd explanation for Crumb's behaviour Glyn has the disparate alter-egos try to outdo each others personae and triumph. There is a touch of Jekyll And Hyde about this , but it's far more darkly comical and satirical , and of course infinitely more sadistically explicit.
Jonny Glyn writes with a pared down style and cleverly plays on that fascination that most of us have with the macabre and the grisly misfortunes that befall others-the sort of impulse that has us slowing down and goggling at accident scenes so we are both fascinated and repulsed at the same time. Glyn is also reflecting the sort of society he feels we live in, a horribly violent one obsessed with voyeurism which sort of brings us back to the first point I made.
The novel this will be inevitably compared to is "American Psycho" .It's not a nastily imaginative as Easton Ellis notorious novel , nor does it share that novels superb levels of satire though there is undoubtedly a level of satire employed here .And of course the narrator like that of Easton Ellis's novel is unreliable at best , completely deranged at worst so how much of his account can we rely on. Should we be more worried that Crumb carries out these acts or thinks the acts themselves are desirable and cool. Obviously the former is worst but the second may be more prevalent in our culture than is healthy and that is worrying in itself. To riff even more explicitly on this theme the book uses lurid newspaper type headlines to mirror societies fascination with twisted individuals like Crumb.( Note the way the media has been drooling over the perpetrator of the Virginia college massacre)
Some critics will no doubt point out that the novel lacks any moral centre but that is surely the point. A moral vacuum is opening in our society where we , and the authorities we rely on to prevent these things happening , wring our hands in consternation when terrible things occur yet appear less and less able to do anything about it .How long before we carrying on looking but stop caring altogether?
Within the first fifty pages two Bangladeshi women have been beaten to death with a claw hammer and a crack addicted prostitute is kicked to death. But what at first may appear to be the sickening boastings of the truly amoral and insane turns out to be something far more complex and satisfying. Crumb it transpires has been adversely affected by a violent seismic event in his past that has cleaved his personality in two. But rather than use this plot device as trite clichéd explanation for Crumb's behaviour Glyn has the disparate alter-egos try to outdo each others personae and triumph. There is a touch of Jekyll And Hyde about this , but it's far more darkly comical and satirical , and of course infinitely more sadistically explicit.
Jonny Glyn writes with a pared down style and cleverly plays on that fascination that most of us have with the macabre and the grisly misfortunes that befall others-the sort of impulse that has us slowing down and goggling at accident scenes so we are both fascinated and repulsed at the same time. Glyn is also reflecting the sort of society he feels we live in, a horribly violent one obsessed with voyeurism which sort of brings us back to the first point I made.
The novel this will be inevitably compared to is "American Psycho" .It's not a nastily imaginative as Easton Ellis notorious novel , nor does it share that novels superb levels of satire though there is undoubtedly a level of satire employed here .And of course the narrator like that of Easton Ellis's novel is unreliable at best , completely deranged at worst so how much of his account can we rely on. Should we be more worried that Crumb carries out these acts or thinks the acts themselves are desirable and cool. Obviously the former is worst but the second may be more prevalent in our culture than is healthy and that is worrying in itself. To riff even more explicitly on this theme the book uses lurid newspaper type headlines to mirror societies fascination with twisted individuals like Crumb.( Note the way the media has been drooling over the perpetrator of the Virginia college massacre)
Some critics will no doubt point out that the novel lacks any moral centre but that is surely the point. A moral vacuum is opening in our society where we , and the authorities we rely on to prevent these things happening , wring our hands in consternation when terrible things occur yet appear less and less able to do anything about it .How long before we carrying on looking but stop caring altogether?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Don't be fooled by the constant comparisons. "The seven days.." is NO "American Psycho". More troubled than brutal - and not as witty as it would like to be - Jonny Glynn's debut novel lacks the dark humor, the strange fascination and the obsessive descriptions of Ellis' finest, and the main character is no Bateman.
Although the book starts out promisingly, presenting us with a rather likeable Peter Crumb, it all deteriorates in the second half. To much whining and over-analyzing make it hard to follow, and the hero's actions become less and less understandable. The Jeckyll/Hyde-style schizophrenia doesn't help much either, because it puts a distance between the reader and the narrating hero. And the acts of violence pop up rather arbitrarily; it almost seems as if the author was required to put in a certain number of murders.
As a comment on modern society it puts its finger in some wounds (so to speak)but is not as cynical and to the point as the best of them.
All in all a pretty decent first outing by a talented writer, but not as good as it could have been.
Although the book starts out promisingly, presenting us with a rather likeable Peter Crumb, it all deteriorates in the second half. To much whining and over-analyzing make it hard to follow, and the hero's actions become less and less understandable. The Jeckyll/Hyde-style schizophrenia doesn't help much either, because it puts a distance between the reader and the narrating hero. And the acts of violence pop up rather arbitrarily; it almost seems as if the author was required to put in a certain number of murders.
As a comment on modern society it puts its finger in some wounds (so to speak)but is not as cynical and to the point as the best of them.
All in all a pretty decent first outing by a talented writer, but not as good as it could have been.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
there aren't many books that climb inside you and sit there for a long time but this is one of them. not just the content of crumb's days, which is fearlessly unsettling, but the totally dazzling and distinctive writing style. from the first page you are in the grip of a rare and dynamic gift - it is fiercely nasty and achingly heartbreaking. the makings of a classic.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Cruel and Depraved Whist Deftly Avoiding Being Cliched
In seven days time Peter Crumb intends to commit suicide. With each day that remains he will take a life in as cruel a fashion as his mind can conjour. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Book Republik
Slightly disappointing
The Seven Days of Peter Crumb by Jonny Glynn was recommended to me on Amazon after I ordered Friction by Joe Stretch and two of John Niven's novels. Read more
Published 9 months ago by bethanchloe
A Poor Man's American Psycho
As another reviewer said, the only interesting thing about
this book is its cover. It is a a complete and utter rip-off of
American Psycho, and not a particularly good... Read more
this book is its cover. It is a a complete and utter rip-off of
American Psycho, and not a particularly good... Read more
Published 10 months ago by K. Puvaneswaran
An Experimental, Artistic, and Alternative American Psycho
This novel is very much like American Psycho, only its symbolism, philosophy and overall message is much more concise and straight-to-the-point. Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Stott
An Excellent Read
Dark, Twisted & Vividly Written. Excellent Debut Novel From Jonny Glynn.
Peter Crumb is split between being charming, charismatic & disturbed, paranoid and a brutal... Read more
Peter Crumb is split between being charming, charismatic & disturbed, paranoid and a brutal... Read more
Published 16 months ago by M Dingsdale
Dark, sadisitic and very, very funny
Meet Peter Crumb. A middle aged single divorcee who lives on his own in a flat in London. Not to mention he's a homicidal sociopath. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Saul
Peter Crumb what a nutter..........
What can I say about Peter Crumb, except for the fact that he is totally and utterly nuts.......
The book however is a really good book. Read more
The book however is a really good book. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2010 by Mr. C. J. Lewis
The seven days of peter crumb
The Seven Days of Peter Crumb
I was simply blown away by this book. Totally uncompromising and a polished gem. Read more
I was simply blown away by this book. Totally uncompromising and a polished gem. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2010 by M. Daniels
It's not big and it's not clever.
At the core of this book is a really clever piece of high concept, unfortunately this is lost in a novel that seems to be written in the wrong time. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2010 by Victor Ward
Dark - really dark
If Chuck Palahniuck (creator of Fight Club) says this book is "horrific" you know it isn't going to be a family read! Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2009 by Marc Munier
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